Dubbed a “Splendid Little War” by Secretary of State John M. Hay, the Spanish-American War began in April 1898, with muddy intentions, muddy conditions, and a feeling by the men who fought it that they had been manipulated by greed instead of good intentions.
SOLDIERS FROM OUR AREA
Records are difficult to find, but the following are thought to be members of the 13th Minnesota Regiment who were from St. Louis Park. Some of this information comes from this website.
C.A. Steele: Listed on a 13th Minnesota Infantry Roster as living at 2716 Kipling. (A house built in 1940 is there now.)
Otto S. Langum: Not from St. Louis Park, but notable as Hennepin County Sheriff from 1909 to 1918.
Arthur Hunter Docken, who lived just south of St. Louis Park at 44th and Brookside in “Edina Mills.” Docken was in the Cavalry, and in 1900 he was a cook in Puerto Rico. He enlisted in October 1899 and was discharged in October 1902.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE WAR
The Spanish-American War is one of those that can be difficult to explain and understand. This chronology is a combination of one found on this website and an article called “A Test of Duty: Stearns County Volunteers in the Spanish-American War” by Steven Penick, as published in the Minnesota History magazine, Fall 2009. Although Penick’s article is about soldiers from the St. Cloud area, they served together with the Minnesota 13th Regiment, and it would be reasonable to assume that our local soldiers would have had the same kinds of experiences. There is much more to read and learn about this war – this is just an overview.
January 1898: Spanish sympathizers staged a riot in Havana, Cuba, a colony of Spain. The United States government sent the ship the U.S.S. Maine to Havana as a “courtesy call” but also to protect American business interests in Cuba.
February 15, 1898: The U.S. Maine exploded in the Havana harbor. Many Americans believe that the ship was sunk by the Spanish, though the actual cause was never proven.
April 19, 1898: The U.S. Congress adopted resolutions that declared Cuba independent from Spain and authorized U.S. military intervention to compel the Spanish to leave Cuba.
April 1898: Spain broke diplomatic relations with the United States.
April 23, 1898: President McKinley asked for 125,000 volunteers to fight a war with Spain.
April 24, 1898: Spain declared a state of war with the U.S.
April 25, 1898: The U.S. officially declared war on Spain.
April 29, 1898: The 13th Minnesota Regiment mustered at Camp Ramsey, located on the State Fairgrounds. Companies A through M were formed from all over the State; five were from the Twin Cities. The Regiment numbered 3,600 men.
May 1, 1898: Commodore George Dewey led an American attack against the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay in the Philippines, a Spanish colony. The Spanish fleet was destroyed, but the American ships were unharmed. Only eight Americans were slightly wounded in the skirmish.
May 7, 1898: Minnesota filled its quota of volunteers.
May 1898: Exiled Filipino leader Emilio Aguilaldo returned from Hong Kong and raised an army.
May 12, 1898: The 13th Regiment received orders to proceed to Camp Merritt in San Francisco and from there to the Philippines. The trip to the west coast by train took four days.
June 12, 1898: Aguinaldo declared independence from Spain.
June 15 1898: American forces repulsed a Spanish force a Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
June 26, 1898: After five weeks at Camp Merrit, the 13th Regiment left for the Philippines on the City of Para, a Pacific Mail Steamship Company ship rated for 600 and loaded with 1,200 men. The men enjoyed a few days on the Hawaiian Islands on the way.
July 1, 1898: American troops stormed the Spanish strongholds of San Juan and El Caney near Santiago, Cuba. Casualties were heavy on both sides. The city of Santiago surrendered on July
17th.
July 3, 1898: The Spanish fleet, stationed in the Santiago harbor, was either destroyed or disabled.
July 25, 1898: American troops landed at Guanica Harbor, Puerto Rico. Three days later the island surrendered.
August 7, 1898: The 13th Regiment arrived at Camp Dewey, a peanut field south of Manila, that became the center for American troops on the islands. It rained the entire time.
August 12, 1898: All hostilities ended by the terms of a protocol. Cuba became independent; Guam and Puerto Rico were ceded to the U.S; and the fate of the Philippine Islands would be determined at a later peace conference.
August 13, 1898: American troops stormed Manila. The 13th Regiment led the way on the right flank, where the most intense combat took place. The Minnesotans saw the heaviest fighting and had more casualties than all the other regiments put together. American forces captured hundreds of Spanish prisoners and took control of Manila. The War was now over.
At the end of the fighting with Spain, the Americans were assigned to police Manila, a dangerous and boring job.
October 1898: Conditions were deteriorating between the Americans and the Filipinos, with the Americans in fear of attacks by the natives at all times. Clear direction was lacking.
December 10, 1898: The peace treaty was signed in Paris. Spain sold the Philippine Islands to the U.S. for $10 million.
February 4, 1899: Philippine “insurgents” declared war on the American occupying forces, and the Third Regiment participated in 24 military engagements in Manila and the countryside in 1899.
February 6, 1899: The peace treaty was approved by the U.S. Senate.
February 22, 1899: Filipinos were attacking Manila from outside the city and an uprising was developing within the city, with a northern suburb called Tondo hit the hardest. Companies C and M were attacked by a large group of Filipinos, and much of the district was set on fire. The Minnesotans held their ground and drove the Filipinos out of the city.
March 20, 1899: The 13th Regiment was given orders to join in the drive to Malolos, the capital of the insurgents.
April 22 to May 26, 1899: The 13th Regiment was split into three battalions. One remained on guard duty, and the other two joined General Lawton and his campaign into northern Luzon, clearing Filipinos out of the area. The Americans captured 28 towns and seized or destroyed Filipino supplies.
August 12, 1899: The 13th Minnesota Regiment finally received orders to return home. They took the Sheridan on the long voyage back.
September 17, 1899: The 13th Minnesota Regiment arrived in San Francisco.
October 3, 1899: The Regiment was formally mustered out, but decided to stay together until they returned to Minnesota.
October 12, 1899: The 13th Regiment reached St. Paul, where they were greeted with a hero’s welcome.
October 13, 1899: Minneapolis built an arch on Nicollet Ave. and the citizens came out by the thousands to welcome the soldiers back to civilization. President McKinley was even on hand to welcome the men back.
February 1900: Rev. Charles Shepherd of Clear Lake came to the St. Louis Park Methodist Church to exhibit the Projectoscope, Edison’s latest invention, showing a series of moving pictures illustrating the war. (Minneapolis Tribune, February 22, 1900)
July 1902: The “Splendid Little War” was finally over.